Posts Tagged: Contemporary

Wednesday, January 07, 2015

Review: Alex As Well by Alyssa Brugman

Posted by 15 Comments

I received this book for free from Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Review: Alex As Well by Alyssa BrugmanAlex As Well by Alyssa Brugman
Published by Henry Holt and Co. on January 20th 2015
Genres: Contemporary, LGBTQIA
Source: Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group
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four-stars

Alex is ready for things to change, in a big way. Everyone seems to think she’s a boy, but for Alex the whole boy/girl thing isn’t as simple as either/or, and when she decides girl is closer to the truth, no one knows how to react, least of all her parents. Undeterred, Alex begins to create a new identity for herself: ditching one school, enrolling in another, and throwing out most of her clothes. But the other Alex—the boy Alex—has a lot to say about that. Heartbreaking and droll in equal measures, Alex As Well is a brilliantly told story of exploring gender and sexuality, navigating friendships, and finding a place to belong.

This is the first intersex book that I have read and I thought it was done pretty well. It’s not that I know nothing about it, I just haven’t read any fictional books about it. I really felt for the MC, Alex. It was sad to see what she was going through, and the lack of support from her parents. It is told from her POV, but we also get her other Alex that is also there in her head. The male Alex that she doesn’t identify with. It was interesting to see her battle with herself, and heartbreaking at how her mother treats her and pretty much refuses to acknowledge that she is female and not male.

Alex was born with a condition that gave her a small male part, but no testicles, and she has ovaries as well. Her parents named her Alex since they did not know if she was male or female, but then decide since she does have a penis, then Alex should be male. Alex has always felt like she was female, but since she has a male part, was confused. Her parents put her on medication to block the female hormones. They also never told her about her condition or that they decided her sex for her and have kept it from her. When she tells her parents she is female, her mom pretty much freaks. All Alex wants to do is live her life as female and have the support and understanding of her parents. She wants real friends. She feels alone. I wanted to jump into the book and be there for her. Be her friend, her confidant, someone to help her know that she isn’t some disgusting being and that it’s okay.

Her parents were awful. Her mom is mean and abusive. She says hurtful things and plays the victim. Why is Alex doing this to her? Why does “he” want to hurt her? Why can’t “he” just let “his” mom do what is best for “him”? (Sorry about all the quotation marks, but I don’t identify Alex as a he, so I don’t feel it’s appropriate to just write it that way.) Her mom writes a blog about it, and the posts made me so mad. That a mother can act that way about her own child makes me sick. I liked that it also had the comments from readers, some of them were ignorant jerks, and some were very thoughtful individuals.

There are other side characters that I actually did like though. I really liked Crockett, the lawyer. He wasn’t initially going to help Alex with getting a birth certificate that states she is female, but happens to see her with her mother treating her badly out in public and he becomes a very big support. He is so helpful and nice and is really there for her. She makes a few friends at school as well who are really great. There were also people who were not so nice, but that is how things really are, so I liked that it stayed realistic.

This was an interesting story that I really enjoyed. I think a book like this is very important too. There aren’t many books like this out there, though I do see that it’s becoming more common. People who are going though something confusing and hard should be able to pick up a fictional book that has characters they can identify with. They can get lost in the pages and feel that someone understands them. I really love that this book may help others going through a similar situation. It could be very eye opening for others as well. People who don’t understand. It can really help people to see how something affects not only the person going through it, but others around them too. There were some parts that were a bit disturbing, but this is how Alex felt and things that she went through, so it didn’t really bother me much. I think this is a fantastic book and I hope that other people discover it.

four-stars

4 Hot Espressos

Review: Twisted Fate by Norah Olsen

Review: Twisted Fate by Norah Olsen

Posted by on 12/30/2014 • 8 Comments

This was one of those books that I was really looking forward to and it sounded like a book I would love. Unfortunately, it was not all that great for me. There were a lot of POV’s and I just had a hard time really getting into it. It wasn’t that it wasn’t interesting. I did want to know the story, I was just kind of bored with it. It took me a long time to read and I almost didn’t finish it, though I am glad that I finally did. The ending is actually really great. This is told from multiple POV’s, as I said before. Sometimes I really like that style, but this one was just a bit too all over for me. I found myself confused at…

Review: Things We Know by Heart by Jessi Kirby

Review: Things We Know by Heart by Jessi Kirby

Posted by on 12/25/2014 • 19 Comments

You know a book is really special when you’ve only just begun and you’re already overwhelming with emotions. Imagine, I’ve only read a few pages of this novel and my eyes were starting to water already. My little brother was even giving me a bewildered look as he saw me wipe my tears away with the back of my hand.

Le brother: What’s up with you? Me: This book… this book is… it’s just so sad…! Le brother: You’re crying over a book? Me: I’m not crying over a book. I’m crying over the characters in this book! Le brother: … you’re crying over a book. Me: Fuck you, you heartless bastard. You wouldn’t understand.

Pffft, brothers. Who needs them?

I’ve first read Jessi Kirby in Golden, a heart-warming and relatable story of…

Audiobook Review: Burying Water by K.A. Tucker

Audiobook Review: Burying Water by K.A. Tucker

Posted by on 12/09/2014 • 8 Comments

Books about loss of memory are always intriguing to me. I also love a contemporary that sounds like it will be all sorts of emotional. This book delivered well for the most part. The thing that turned me off was the infidelity. I don’t ever think it’s okay no matter what. Yes, her husband was a cheating bastard first, but it doesn’t make it okay for her to do it too. Anyways, putting all of that aside, I really enjoyed this book. I loved how the past is told by Jesse, and the present told by Water and how they finally converge. I did wish for a bit more of an emotional impact, but I think because I was put off by certain things it made it harder for me…

Review: Top Ten Clues You’re Clueless by Liz Czukas

Review: Top Ten Clues You’re Clueless by Liz Czukas

Posted by on 12/04/2014 • 13 Comments

Just in time for the holiday season, this book is set on Christmas Eve. It was a fun and fast read with a bit of a mystery element. The characters were interesting, though not thoroughly developed, and the story was a bit mindless. There are random lists that scatter this book quite frequently, but being that it is told by Chloe, it really shows her personality. She loves lists and it is very much a part of her daily life. At first it was a bit distracting, but quickly became a fun part of the story. This is just one of those books that you can sit down and read in one sitting, that you don’t take too seriously, and it’s a few hours worth of entertainment.

Chloe’s family…

Review: On the Edge by Allison van Diepen

Review: On the Edge by Allison van Diepen

Posted by on 11/18/2014 • 9 Comments

This book was a bit different than I expected, but not in a bad way. I suppose when you just barely skim the synopsis that’s bound to happen. In short, it is a book about a girl who lives in a shitty area with her mom, hasn’t had the best life, and wants something more. Oh, and add in the super hot “bad boy” who is actually not really all that bad. And gangs and trafficking too. So, now that we’ve covered that, I will say that I enjoyed this book. While I didn’t love it, it wasn’t a book that I thought about putting down at any point. The characters were done pretty well and it kept me wanting to know what would happen with them, but I didn’t…

Review: Rites of Passage by Joy N Hensley

Review: Rites of Passage by Joy N Hensley

Posted by on 11/06/2014 • 17 Comments

It’s been a while since I listened to a good audiobook. I enjoyed this one quite a bit. Not only was the book itself great, but the narrator was perfect for it. In this day and age we don’t think as much about gender equality as we used to, but gender roles sadly do still exist. I love that this was a YA book that explored that, and shows a strong female character fighting for what is right. Not only for herself, but for others to follow. I love a good military story, and this one was great. I think it was enhanced by the audio since it really helped to put the emotion of the characters center stage. I wouldn’t say this was full of action, but there was…

Review: She Is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick

Review: She Is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick

Posted by on 03/27/2014 • 14 Comments

Last year I read Marcus Sedgwick’s Midwinterblood and while I wasn’t the biggest fan of the way the story unfolded I was a fast fan of the writing.  Upon seeing that he had a more contemporary tale coming out this year I was anxious to get my hands on it.  While She Is Not Invisible isn’t the most action packed novel I have ever read it is incredibly thought provoking and a story that I just could not put down.

We meet Laureth Peak as she is trudging through a London airport with her younger brother and his stuffed raven, Stan.  She is trying to convince herself that she is doing the right thing and that she is not abducting her younger sibling.  Through some well done flashbacks we see…